Somerset schoolchildren with additional needs could soon be educated a lot closer to home.

Somerset County Council has submitted a bid to the Department for Education to build a new specialist free school in Wells. It will provide support for up to 64 pupils in the Mendip area.

The site is expected to cater for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).

This follows a successful previous bid for a similar facility in Ash near Martock, which is expected to open by January 2024.

The DfE has set aside £2.6bn of capital investment to deliver up to 60 new specialists free schools across the UK before the next government spending review.

A free school functions like an academy. They are funded directly by the DfE rather than through the local authority.

Council officer, Lewis Andrews said: “Attending a local school would reduce time and money spent on transport, and allow pupils in Mendip to arrive at school ready to engage in their learning.

“Good quality provision – where children feel engaged, safe and less anxious – will have a positive impact on attendance rates.

“Attending a local school would allow Mendip children and young people to develop and maintain appropriate peer relationships in and out of school, and will remove geographical barriers which have historically prevented parents engaging as closely as possible in their child’s education

“The new provision will help the council reduce its dedicated schools grant deficits through a reduced reliance on placements in the expensive independent and non-maintained special schools’ sector.”

The council successfully obtained funding to open a new 120-place specialist school in Ash in the previous round of DfE bidding.

The new Martock-Ash Academy, which will be run by the Wave Multi-Academy Trust, was originally expected to open its doors in September 2022; however, this has now been pushed back to January 2024.

This delay has led the council to spend more money on placing SEND children into independent specialist schools – with the average cost per place in such a facility being £30,000 a year higher than the state-maintained equivalent.

Girls have been especially hampered by this delay, since the Sky Academy in Taunton can only provide education for SEND boys.

Mr Andrews said: “The intention is the new school will cater for children and young people aged 9 to 16. Our officers have identified two potential sites in Wells that could accommodate a 64-place school of the type envisaged.

“Both areas of land are located within close proximity to the main population centres in Mendip – namely Wells, Street, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Frome and Cheddar. There are no suitable alternative areas that have been identified.”

If the DfE agrees to fund the school, the council will hold further consultation.